Melissa Gilbert Net Worth: Early Life, Career And Net Worth

Melissa Gilbert Net Worth

melissa gilbert net worth

Melissa Gilbert net worth is $500k as an actress and director. Together, she and fellow actor Timothy Busfield, her husband since 2013, have a net worth of that amount. Melissa has recently had both personal and financial difficulties. She has dealt with tax problems as a result of a pricey divorce and a cooled career. The article that follows has more information on these topics.

Tax Issues

Melissa Gilbert allegedly underpaid $360,000 in federal income taxes, it was learned in June 2015. She allegedly negotiated a payment schedule with the IRS. She had already encountered the IRS once before. In 2013, she allegedly owed $112,000 in debt. Gilbert explained her financial situation in the following statement: “Like so many people across the nation, the recession hit me hard. That, plus a divorce and a death of acting opportunities the last few years, created a perfect storm of financial difficulty for me.

Real Estate

A 14-acre property in the Catskill Mountains of New York was purchased by Melissa and Timothy in 2019 for $98,000. Woodstock is about 20 minutes away. The current main residence is this.

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Who is Melissa Gilbert?

melissa gilbert net worth

Melissa Ellen Gilbert, an American actress, politician, television director, producer, and former head of the Screen Actors Guild, was born on May 8, 1963.

In the late 1960s, Gilbert made her acting debut as a child actress in a number of television guest spots and commercials. She appeared in the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1983 as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the second oldest child of Charles Ingalls (played by Michael Landon).

Gilbert made several television appearances during the duration of Little House, including The Miracle Worker and The Diary of Anne Frank.

Early Life

David and Kathy Gilbert gave birth to Melissa Gilbert in Los Angeles, California. She was abandoned shortly after birth; a day later, she was adopted by Paul Gilbert, an actor, and Barbara Crane, an actress. Her adoptive parents separated when Gilbert was eight years old.

After that, her mother wed Harold Abeles, with whom she eventually had a daughter named Sara. Jonathan, another sibling of Melissa Gilbert’s, was adopted by her parents. When Gilbert was 11 years old, her adoptive father committed suicide. Her stepfather and mother later got divorced.

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Career

Melissa Gilbert started her career as a child actress in the late 1960s, appearing in a lot of television advertisements. She appeared in “The Dean Martin Comedy Hour’s” Christmas special in 1968. Gilbert made a comeback to television in the early 1970s, making cameos on programs like Tenafly, Gunsmoke, and Emergency!

The NBC historical drama series “Little House on the Prairie,” which was based on the “Little House” book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, gave Gilbert her breakout role in 1974. In the program, Gilbert played Laura, the second-oldest child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls, who was portrayed on the show by Michael Landon and Karen Grassle, respectively. Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush, as well as Melissa Sue Anderson, played her on-screen siblings.

Melissa Gilbert beat more than 500 other young actors for the part of Laura. Through 1982, “Little House on the Prairie” enjoyed tremendous success. A few more “Little House” television movies and a follow-up series called “Little House: A New Beginning” were also produced after the original series ended in 1983.

Gilbert had several appearances in television movies while she was a cast member of “Little House on the Prairie.” She played Helen Keller in an adaption of “The Miracle Worker” and appeared in “Christmas Miracle in Caulfield, USA” in the late 1970s. She received an Emmy Award nod for her portrayal as Keller.

Melissa Gilbert played Anne Frank in the early 1980s rendition of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” She also portrayed missionary Jean Donovan in “Choices of the Heart” and starred in the television adaptation of “Splendor in the Grass.” Gilbert appeared in the television movies “Family Secrets,” “Choices,” “Penalty Phase,” “Killer Instinct,” and “Chameleons” throughout the rest of the 1980s.

Gilbert has continued to primarily appear in television movies on the small screen. Without Her Consent, “Forbidden Nights,” “The Lookalike,” “Family of Strangers,” “Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story,” “Seduction in a Small Town,” “Her Own Rules,” “The Soul Collector,” and “Mistaken Identity” were among the films she was credited within the 1990s.

The television movies “Sanctuary,” “Then Came Jones,” “Heart of the Storm,” “Thicker Than Water,” and “Sacrifices of the Heart” all featured Gilbert in the 2000s. She has also played some important roles in regular television shows, such as a major role in the NBC courtroom drama “Sweet Justice” and another major role in the short-lived Fox sitcom “Stand by Your Man.”

Melissa Gilbert also had recurring parts in “Secrets and Lies” and “Batman: The Animated Series.” She participated in season 14 of the dance competition program “Dancing with the Stars,” among other things. She came in fifth place with Maksim Chmerkovskiy as her partner.

Gilbert made her feature film debut in 1967’s Don Knotts comedy “The Reluctant Astronaut.” It wasn’t until 1985 that she made another appearance on the big screen, as a young horse trainer in the family drama “Sylvester.” Since then, Gilbert hasn’t done much work in the movie industry; among her, few credits are the drama “Guest Artist” and the direct-to-video romantic comedy “Safe Harbour.”

2016 Congressional Candidate

melissa gilbert

Gilbert defeated Valerie Harper in the 2001 Screen Actors Guild presidential election after a contentious race. In 2003, she defeated Kent McCord and won reelection. Gilbert then decided against running for a third term.

Gilbert declared her campaign for the US House of Representatives in the summer of 2015, intending to represent Michigan’s 8th congressional district. Nevertheless, after winning the primary and emerging as the presumed Democratic contender for the district, she had to halt her campaign in the spring of 2016 owing to health problems.

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Personal Life

In the 1980s, Gilbert was engaged to actor Rob Lowe, but they later called it quits. The actor Bo Brinkman, who she later married, was her next love interest. Dakota was the couple’s kid before they were divorced in 1992. Soon after, Gilbert started dating novelist and actor Bruce Boxleitner, whose ex-wife introduced the two. They had, incidentally, first met when Gilbert was a teenager on “Battle of the Network Stars.”

Melissa Gilbert and Boxleitner broke off their engagements twice before finally getting hitched in 1995. Michael was their son, and they eventually got divorced in 2011. Since 2013, she has been wed to actor Timothy Busfield.

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